Field of Invention
The present disclosure is generally related to boom assemblies, and more particularly, boom assemblies used on agricultural field dispensing equipment.
Discussion of Related Art
Agricultural field dispensing equipment, such as machines that are used to spray crops, generally use a spray boom. The spray boom hangs over crop in the field, and includes spray nozzles and product supply lines coupled thereto, among other supporting components. Due to the length of the spray boom, the ends of the spray boom have the ability to break away. In other words, the spray boom ends are generally hinged a predefined distance from the end of the spray boom (e.g., ten (10) feet) in case the operator of the machine to which the spray boom is coupled hits an obstacle (generally, object) while spraying. The hinge area is often referred to as a breakaway joint, and generally comprises a mechanical system that firmly holds together (in deployed alignment) an outer portion of the spray boom with an inner portion of the spray boom until the outer portion comes into contact with an object. If contact is made, the mechanical system reaches a stress point that eventually enables the release or breakaway of the spray boom outer portion (which includes the boom tip), enabling the boom tip to swing away from the object that it came in contact with. The mechanical system for the breakaway joint used today has several setup procedures, and also causes more stress on the outer portion when it hits an object to apply the needed pressure to make the mechanical breakaway process work. It would be desirable to improve upon the mechanical breakaway system.